Marine hull

ABSTRACT

A hull having conventional fore and after parts but with an intermediate part secured therebetween and comprising two similar closed structures having rounded bottoms and arranged longitudinally parallel and spaced transversely apart to define a center well opening upwardly and downwardly. The outer sides of the closed structures are extended upwardly to form the opposite sides and freeboard of the hull. A plurality of decks are spaced vertically apart between said side and define grate covered openings that vertically interconnect said center well with the topside.

United States Patent Cobb May 16, 1972 541 MARINE HULL FORElGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 72 inventor: Alvin A. Cobb 1 25 Foucher St" New o 671,172 4/1952 Great Britain ..1 14/36 leans, La. 70l l5 Primary Examiner-Trygve M. 811K Filed! 1970 Attorney-James B. Lake, Jr.

21 A l. N 5 365 1 PP 3 i 57 ABSTRACT U S CI 1 14/68 A hull having conventionalfore and after parts but with an in- [51] In. .0 43/10 Immediate pan secured therebetween and comprising two [5'8] Field 36 68 6! similar closed structures having rounded bottoms and arranged longitudinally parallel and spaced transversely apart to l 56] References Cited define a center well opening upwardly and downwardly. The outer sides of the closed structures are extended upwardly to UNITED STATES PATENTS form the opposite sides and freeboard of the hull. A plurality of decks are spaced vertically apart between said side and 3,367,298 2/ l 968 Jessup ..1 14/36 d fi grate covered openings that vertically interconnect said center well with the topside.

1 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PMENTEMY 16 m2 SHEET 1 [IF 4 ALVIN BY .ID

I NVEN TOR.

A. COBB AT TORNE Y P'A TENTmnmsmz 3.662.701

sum 3 OF 4 INVENTORL ATTORNEY PATENTED MAY 15 sum u or 4 FIG.

INVENTOR. ALVIN A. COBB ATTORNE MARINE HULL The invention relates generally to floating marine structures and more particularly to ship and boat hulls that define center wells opening at the bottom to the sea and at the top to the topsides through any plurality of decks therebetween.

It is an object of the invention to provide a marine hull that cannot be swamped and cannot be capsized.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following specifications, claims and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the invention showing the interior and vertical arrangements in phantom,

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along section lines 2-2 of FIG. 1 taken vertically,

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view along section lines 33 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along section lines 4-4 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along section lines 55 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along section lines 6-6 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the invention comprises a hull 10 having a conventional bow l2, stern l4 and an intermediate structure 16 secured between and to said bow and stem.

The intermediate structure 16 comprises two closed Iongitudinal tanks 18 and 20 that are mirrorly similar and parallely arranged. The tanks are transversely spaced apart to define therebetween a center well 22 that extends longitudinally from a watertight bulkhead 24 closing the after end of the bow 12 to a similar bulkhead 26 closing the forward end of the stern 14 (see FIG. 5). The tanks are round bottomed (see FIGS. 3 and 4) for most of their length but the forward parts are tapered downward to keel edge as shown in FIG. 2 to conform to the shape of the bow. The tops of tanks 18 and 20 are flat to form the divided deck 25, and the respective outboard sides of the tanks are extended upward to form the hull sides 26 and 27. The inboard sides are extended upward a short distance above the tanks 18 and 20 to extend the sides 28 and 30 of the center well above the hull water line to prevent spillage therefrom into the spaces 32 and 34 situated above the respective tanks when the hull rolls in a sea. Each of the tanks is divided into closed chambers of approximate equal lengths by watertight bulkheads 36 (see FIGS. 1 and 5).

Another deck 38 extends between the bow and stern bulkheads 24 and 26 and has defined therethrough two center openings 40 and 42, and port and starboard openings 44 and 46 see FIG. 6). Just under the deck 38 broad waterways 48 connect the openings 44 and 46 respectively with the center openings 40 and 42, which themselves are connected by downspouts 49 that open above the center well 22 just below the extended sides 28 and 30.

Any water washing into the hull is voided through the runways and downspouts into the center well and out of the ships hull, thereby rendering the hull non-swampable. In a seaway, hull roll is stabilized by the center well to make the hull practically uncapsizable.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved marine hull having conventional bow and stem parts closed by watertight bulkheads, and comprising in combination: two similar round-bottomed tanks closed at their respective ends by watertight bulkheads, each said tank having a flat top and straight parallel sides normal to said flat top and extending thereabove unequal distances, said tanks being secured to and extending between said bow and stem parts, parallel to each other and transversely spaced apart to define a longitudinal center well therebetween, the longer extending sides respectively outboard to form the sides of said hull and the shorter of said sides respectively inboard to form the sides of said center well; a cargo deck secured to to said outboard sides and extending therebetween and above the shorter of said tank sides from said bow to said stern parts for fastening said tanks together intermediate thereof, said cargo deck defining interior drainage holes therein covered by grills; a drainage waterway fixed under the center of said cargo deck and extending longitudinally under said drainage holes for draining any water entering said hull above said deck; and at least one downspout leading from said waterway to empty into the center well, whereby water entering said hull above the waterway is vented into said center well between said tanks, and water entering said hull below said cargo deck empties over said flat tops and shorter of the sides of said tanks into said center well thereby making said hull unsinkable and uncapsizable. 

1. An improved marine hull having conventional bow and stern parts closed by watertight bulkheads, and comprising in combination: two similar round-bottomed tanks closed at their respective ends by watertight bulkheads, each said tank having a flat top and straight parallel sides normal to said flat top and extending thereabove unequal distances, said tanks being secured to and extending between said bow and stern parts, parallel to each other and transversely spaced apart to define a longitudinal center well therebetween, the longer extending sides respectively outboard to form the sides of said hull and the shorter of said sides respectively inboard to form the sides of said center well; a cargo deck secured to to said outboard sides and extending therebetween and above the shorter of said tank sides from said bow to said stern parts for fastening said tanks together intermediate thereof, said cargo deck defining interior drainage holes therein covered by grills; a drainage waterway fixed under the center of said cargo deck and extending longitudinally under said drainage holes for draining any water entering said hull above said deck; and at least one downspout leading from said waterway to empty into the center well, whereby water entering said hull above the waterway is vented into said center well between said tanks, and water entering said hull below said cargo deck empties over said flat tops and shorter of the sides of said tanks into said center well thereby making said hull unsinkable and uncapsizable. 